Thugs who vandalise buses and attack drivers on Teesside could soon find themselves sharply in the picture.

Thugs who vandalise buses and attack drivers on Teesside could soon find themselves sharply in the picture.

Arriva North East, which operates 450 vehicles in the region, is to install onboard CCTV cameras to help bring the yobs to justice.

The company will announce when the scheme comes into operation but the selected routes which will be monitored will be kept secret.

CCTV cameras were introduced on Belfast buses at the height of The Troubles and have since been introduced on some buses in London.

Mike Barber, marketing manager at the company's commercial department in Stockton, said: "We are targeting key routes in the early stage and we are not disclosing these, though some on Teesside will come into the rolling programme."

The company is hoping to spread the cost of the scheme by tapping into joint funding with local authorities.

"We want to improve the safety of our employees and our passengers and the first of these buses should be running with cameras within the next couple of months," Mr Barber said.

"There will be notices placed on buses to the effect that for the safety of passengers CCTV cameras have been installed."

He stressed: "There have been incidents which, although unpleasant for staff and customers, are fairly isolated. But we want to ensure the best safety for customers and staff."

Drivers also have measures to contact police direct should trouble occur on buses - but he declined to disclose them.

Driver Graham Hodgson, 46, spoke out to the Gazette after youths boarded his 65A Middlesbrough-Loftus bus last September and caused trouble.

One sneaked to the back and tripped the emergency cut-off - immobilising the bus.

When he got out, Mr Hodgson said he was "subjected to a torrent of abuse" and spat at in the face.

He tried to continue the journey through East Cleveland but at each stop the yobs jumped out of the emergency exits, he said.

After speaking to colleagues, Mr Hodgson was shocked to discover eight drivers from Loftus had been robbed of takings on Cargo Fleet Lane, Middlesbrough.

But he stressed Arriva North East had taken the problem seriously and was "reacting very responsibly".

In Thornaby, in November last year, children as young as five were risking their lives by "surfing" - riding on the roofs -of moving buses.

Bus windows were smashed by bricks and stones and some youths tampered with buses, forcing them to stop.

Michael Burns, the Transport and General Workers' Union representative for Arriva drivers, wholeheartedly welcomed the new scheme.

"This is about better security for our members and the public generally and is in line with a Government strategy to make public transport safer and more attractive to car users," he said.

"We are concerned about the levels of assaults and vandalism and any moves to counter this are, of course, to be welcomed and we are very supportive of the company's approach. We want to see the scheme rolled out to more and more vehicles."

In London, Arriva London has already turned to in-vehicle surveillance to tackle crime on troubled routes.

The undisclosed routes in the Clapham area had suffered attempted assaults on drivers, attacks on passengers, thefts of valuables and vandalism.

John Keating, CCTV controller for Arriva London, said: "It's working. In the past eight months or so we have had 10-12 assaults - mainly on passengers. We have passed the evidence to the police for investigation.